Yacub Addy & HBOdadaa!

We’ve been anxiously awaiting the debut of the new HBO series “Treme” for months now. Why?

1.) Co-creator of the series is David Simon, the man behind one of our all-time favorite television series, “The Wire.” His cohort on “Treme” is writer-producer Eric Overmyer (“St. Elsewhere,” “Homicide”).
2.) “Treme” is set in the troubled, post-Katrina times of New Orleans, one of our favorite cities.
3.) The series centers around the lives of jazz musicians and the Crescent City’s second-line culture, and well, you know how we feel about music – especially New Orleans music.

The series is slated to debut next month, but now we’re even more excited after viewing the new extended trailer for “Treme,” which just happens to feature the music of one of Nippertown’s finest musicians, West African drum master Yacub Addy and his Ghanaian music ensemble Odadaa!:

The music is “Ring Shout (Peace of Mind),” the opening segment of “Congo Square,” the epic 14-movement suite composed by Addy and Wynton Marsalis and performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Odadaa!

I was fortunate enough to be able to follow the creation of “Congo Square” from the first rehearsal – at The Egg in Albany in January, 2006 – to the world premiere in New Orleans’ Congo Square three months later, and it was one of the most thrilling musical experiences of my life.

Go here to find out more about “Congo Square.” If you want to hear and see “Congo Square,” a 2-CD set is available, as is a DVD of a performance from the 2007 Montreal Jazz Festival.